Boeing whistleblower says he would not fly on 737 Max plane after defect claims

Boeing whistleblower Santiago Paredes said his experiences made him cautious about flying (Picture: CBS News/Reuters)

A whistleblower who worked for a Boeing supplier has claimed airplane parts left the factory with ‘serious defects.’

Santiago Paredes alleged that Boeing’s largest supplier Spirit AeroSystems in Kansas, US, regularly shipped out parts with defects, the BBC and CBS report.

It was only a ‘matter of time before something bad happened’ due to faulty parts, he told CBS.

Mr Paredes said he is now reluctant to fly on a Boeing 737 Max plane in case it still carries parts from the factory he worked as a quality inspector for more than a decade.

He also claimed he was pressured to play down the number of defects he spotted, the BBC reports.

A spokesperson for Spirit told Metro.co.uk in a statement it takes ‘all employee concerns about quality, safety, work practices, and products very seriously.’

Spirit AeroSystems is Boeing’s biggest supplier (Picture: Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

The company said that while the claims made against it are ‘unfounded,’ it cannot comment on ‘specific allegations due to the ongoing litigation.’

Boeing said it has taken ‘significant action to improve the quality of Spirit AeroSystems fuselages.’

It moved its inspection and rework teams to Spirit’s Wichita factory in early March, allowing only fully-inspected fuselages to be shipped to Boeing, the manufacturer said.

This reduced faulty parts, or ‘non-conformances,’ by 80%, according to Boeing.

Whistleblowing

Mr Paredes, an Air Force veteran, worked for Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, for more than a decade.

He inspected 737 Max fuselages before they were sent to Boeing’s own plant in Seattle, Washington state.

Santiago Paredes decided to speak out after allegedly witnessing ‘serious’ issues at Spirit AeroSystems (Provider: CBS News)

The former quality manager, who led a team of inspectors at Spirit, claimed he often found up to 200 defects on parts, the BBC reports.

He claimed it was not unusual for him to find ‘anywhere from 50 to 100, 200’ defects on fuselages – the main body of the plane.

While some of the defects he spotted at Spirit were minor, others were more serious, he told the BBC.

In an interview with CBS News he told that ‘if quality mattered, I would still be at Spirit.’

‘It was very rare for us to look at a job and not find any defects,’ he alleged.

Spirit AeroSystems headquarters in Wichita, Kansas (Picture: Nick Oxford/Reuters)

His nickname became ‘showstopper’ for delaying the production when he raised concerns.

He claimed he was pushed to be less rigorous with his checks and to change the way defects were recorded to reduce their overall number, the BBC said.

Spirit just ‘wanted the product shipped out,’ he claimed.

He continued: ‘They weren’t focused on the consequences of shipping bad fuselages. They were just focused on meeting the quotas, meeting the schedule, meeting the budget […]If the numbers looked good, the state of the fuselages didn’t really matter.’

When Mr Paredes protested, he was demoted and moved to another part of the factory, he said.

He told the BBC: ‘I felt I was being threatened, and I felt I was being retaliated against for raising concerns.’

After raising an ethics complaint with Spirit’s HR, he wrote an email to the company’s then chief executive Tom Gentile, writing that he had ‘lost faith on the quality organisation here at Spirit and this is my last cry for help.’

While he was eventually reinstated in his leadership role and given back-pay, he had been pushed to his limit.  

He soon left Spirit after working there from 2010 until 2022 for another Boeing supplier.

But the defects he allegedly spotted have now left him ‘very uncomfortable’ to fly on Boeing 737 Max planes in case they still carry parts with defects.

He said he almost became afraid of flying after working at Spirit.

Response to safety concerns

He told CBS News he often found problems when inspecting the area of the same door panel that fell off a Boeing 737 plane during an Alaskan Airline flight in January.

He claimed it happened because Spirit ‘let go of a defect that they overlooked because of the pressure that they put on the inspectors.’

Following the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed quality checks and paused the production expansion of the 737 Max.

The faulty door had been originally fitted by Spirit, but it had been subsequently removed by Boeing technicians to fix a faulty riveting, the BBC reports citing the investigation.

The FAA found multiple instances where both Spirit and Boeing failed to comply with manufacturing control practices, according to an audit.

Mr Parades was included in a shareholder lawsuit against Spirit, citing him as ‘Former Employee 1’ who alleged ‘widespread quality failures’ at the company.

He claimed Boeing was aware of the failures.  

Spirit’s spokesperson Joe Buccino told Metro in a statement: ‘We take all employee concerns about quality, safety, work practices, and products very seriously.

‘Our employees’ well-being and the quality of our work are both top priorities for us. To this end, we have recently enhanced our reporting system with the Quality 360 program, which includes QR codes and a streamlined format to make it easier for employees to submit anonymous complaints.

‘We encourage all Spirit employees with concerns to come forward, safe in knowing they will be protected.

Two Boeing whistleblowers have died in recent months (Picture: Elaine Thompson/AP)

‘While we firmly believe the plaintiffs’ claims in the amended complaint are unfounded, we cannot comment on specific allegations due to the ongoing litigation.

‘We remain committed to addressing concerns and continuously improving workplace safety standards.’

Spirit asked a judge to dismiss the shareholder lawsuit on the basis of Mr Paredes being reinstated after he was demoted, citing this as proof that the company values quality control, CBS reports.

Boeing told Metro.co.uk it has entered into discussions to buy Spirit AeroSystems.

The companies split into two firms almost 20 years ago.

Boeing whistleblower deaths

The whistleblower claims come after previous concerns.

A former Boeing employee John Barnett, 62, was found dead during a court case against the manufacturer.

South Carolina state coroner said he died from a ‘self-inflicted wound.’

Mr Barnett had claimed in a 2019 BBC interview that overworked staff had been deliberately fitting planes with sub-standard parts.

He also alleged he discovered serious problems with oxygen systems, suggesting that one-in-four masks might not work in an emergency.

Boeing said previously it is cooperating ‘fully and transparently’ with the ongoing investigation.

Another Boeing whistleblower Joshua Dean, 45, died suddenly after claiming he was fired for flagging concerns about safety standards at the Spirit AeroSystems Wichita plant.

His death appears to be due to natural causes after suffering from an infection.

He worked as a quality auditor at the same plant were Mr Paredo was until he left in mid-2022.

Mr Paredo told CBS News why he decided to speak publicly: ‘In a way I think before, if something happens to me, I’d rather them hear it from me than not hear it at all.

‘My cry out is not a cry out to get somebody in trouble. My cry out is to highlight the defects that they well known are in their factory, but they need to fix them. So their business can be successful.’

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